Pacemaker breakthrough’will save lives of hundreds
Published: March 9, 2005
Doctors have hailed a dramatic breakthrough in the treatment of heart disease, using a high-tech device which could save the lives of hundreds of people.
A study based in Yorkshire of 800 patients who suffer from a common heart ailment has found a specialised pacemaker can reduce death rates by more than a third.
People with cardiac dysynchrony – a condition which causes a loss of co-ordination in the muscles of the heart – also found significant improvements in the quality of their lives, leading to a reduction in emergency hospital admissions by a third.
Doctors from Hull, who have led the Europe-wide work, believe it could have one of the most significant impacts ever on treating serious heart disease.
They have been so struck by the discovery they have decided it is no longer ethical to withhold the treatment from half the patients in the trial, who have been receiving ordinary drug therapies, to allow a comparison with the device to be made.
As many as 100,000 people in Britain, and millions worldwide, suffer from the condition, and doctors estimate up to a third could be helped using the cutting-edge technology. Prof John Cleland, of Hull University, said the condition made the heart less effective at pumping blood around the body, causing breathlessness and fatigue which has a severe impact on the quality of life and life expectancy of sufferers.
Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy (CRT) uses pacemaker technology to re-coordinate the failing heart’s action.
The device sends tiny electrical impulses through heart muscles, enabling them to contract as a team.
If left untreated, the heart otherwise becomes progressively less efficient.
Until now, symptoms have been treated using drugs which can alleviate them to some extent, but not in all patients, but have no effect on the progression of the disease.
Prof Cleland said the reduction in deaths and hospital admissions had been “astonishing”.
The heart had returned to near-normal levels of function in many patients, essentially causing a remission of their heart disease.
He said: “It is unusual to see treatments making this big a difference on mortality, morbidity and making patients feel better.
“Heart failure is one of the main reasons for emergency hospitalisations in Europe and North America. This new treatment will give doctors more effective ways to treat their patients and have a huge impact on patients well-being and life expectancy.”
The treatment is not currently routinely available on the NHS, but is provided at 20 centres nationwide, including Hull and Leeds.
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence, which approves treatments for the NHS, is expected to quickly examine the use of the device, which costs about £5,000.
Prof Cleland said: “It is my hope that this device will be introduced as a standard treatment for cardiac dysynchrony over the next 12 months as it could dramatically reduce the load on hospitals which are already struggling to cope with the number of patients admitted with heart failure.
“The widespread introduction of the device could also have a positive impact on waiting lists and costs, as comparative to other heart failure treatments, CRT is less expensive and appears to reduce the need for hospitalisation.
“Heart failure is a deadly serious condition, but with good treatments people can double or triple their life expectancy.”
The findings of the research were announced at the American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Sessions in Florida.
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